Google Just Launched The Pixel 3 For Rs 71,000, But Is It The Best Camera Phone Out There?

At a launch event in New York City tonight, Google launched its eagerly awaited and copiously leaked new smartphones, the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. With them came a whole host of new features as well, wrapped up into a package starting at Rs 71,000.

Images courtesy Jayesh Shinde

The basics

Both devices feature a single camera setup as expected, a bold move from Google in an industry where even three and more cameras to a side is becoming the norm. The one major difference from the Pixel 2 though is that both the 3 and 3XL now feature an almost bezel-less display, having adopted the notch. It¡¯s a slightly deeper notch than we¡¯ve seen on any device till date, and they do still retain a fairly significant chin.

Aside from that however, both devices feature the same fingerprint scanner placement on the rear as with their predecessors, sectioned off from the rear camera and flash by the iconic dual-colour panel design with soft-touch glass. It¡¯s when you get inside the phones however that you see the difference in models.

Jayesh Shinde

The Pixel 3 is packing a 5.5-inch display with a rear camera while the 3 XL features a 6.3-inch (1440 x 2960) display, with a single 12.2MP camera on the rear. It also runs the new Snapdragon 845 processor, and packs in 64GB/128GB storage alongside 4GB of RAM.

For both devices, Google claims the battery will give you seven hours of life with average usage. The Adaptive Battery setting meanwhile lets you mark your most-used apps and services so power is prioritized for just them. In addition, the Pixel 3 lineup also supports the Qi wireless charging standard.

The new Pixel 3 (L) vs the old Pixel 2 XL (R)

New ways to play

As usual, both Pixel 3 and 3 XL run Android 9.0 Pie out of the box. This means old features like the Active Edge from the Pixel 2 maka a return, as well as new toys to play with. Google Lens brings added search capability, allowing the Google Assistant to make real-time suggestions when you point the camera at a URL, email, phone number, address, QR codes, you name it. You don¡¯t need to switch to a special mode either, or even turn on your Internet connection for this. But when you are connected to the net, all you have to do is long press the camera button to have the device help you do things like identify plants and animals, copy printed text, and even look up IRL clothes on ecommerce sites.

Blitzing photography

On the camera side, Google has really pulled out all the stops. The new Pixel Visual Core Chip processes multiple photos together in milliseconds to give you HDR+, a computational "best photo". In addition, there are a ton of new features as well. Top Shot Ensures you don't have photos with someone blinking, or sneezing, or where you clicked too late and missed the action. So once you click your photo, the camera gives you before and after suggestion photos similar to Apple's Live Photos. The difference here is that Google Assistant is picking the best options based off its image recognition expertise, and not just a few frames before and after.

Google's computational photography + Pixel Visual Core. This combination makes sure you take the best pic every single time. And now with "Top Shot" & "Night Sight", the #Pixel3 makes sure you become a photography ninja! #madebygoogle pic.twitter.com/95P4pjciun

¡ª Indiatimes (@indiatimes) October 9, 2018

Super Resolution Zoom meanwhile allows you to click burst photos and merge them to create extra resolution in a photo. That way, you can then later zoom into a shot and not have it appear blurry when saved. Night Sight, on the other hand is the computational version of night mode, which showed some pretty staggering improvement to what we've gotten used to from smartphones.

Group Selfie Cam uses a second wide angle lens on the front to capture more area - 184 percent more of the scene than iPhone XS according to Google. And that's not even the end of it!

Not to mention you¡¯ll have no problem storing all of these photos as Pixel owners get unlimited free Google Drive storage.

Availability and price

Both Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL will be available in Clearly White, Just Black, and a new Not Pink colour. They¡¯ll make their appearance on store shelves in India and will carry a fairly hefty price tag.

Pixel 3

64GB - Rs 71,000

128GB - Rs 80,000

Pixel 3 XL

64GB - Rs 83,000

128GB - Rs 92,000

India pricing and availability for Google Pixel 3 phones:
Pixel 3 (64GB): ?71,000
Pixel 3 (128GB): ?80,000
Pixel 3 XL (64GB): ?83,000
Pixel 3 XL (128GB): ?92,000
Pre-orders begin on Nov 11. Available from Nov 1 onwards. #madebygoogle #teampixel #Pixel3 #Pixel3XL pic.twitter.com/N2pkeLDjaS

¡ª Indiatimes (@indiatimes) October 9, 2018